Bought the port for the glasses

[John F. Newman]

Driving home on a snowy day, I just wanted to get the fireplace going and relax with a nice glass of port. Realizing that everything I have in my limited stock needs decanting, I stopped in a a wine specialty store that specialized in overpricing. The 10 year old Sandeman with the 2 "free" glasses was staring at me. As I haven't had Sandeman in a dog's age and considering I don't have actual port glasses (but those tiny little port sipping glasses I got as a wedding gift and my wife thinks I am an alcoholic for filling them up so multiple times in a night), I bought it the Sandeman for the 2 port glasses.

My problem is that I have the character flaw that I will now have to buy at least 3 more bottles to make a full set.

Tasting note: at first jammy, then I get raisins with the slightest hint of vanilla, nice acidity.

(hey, my first tasting notes here... but not enough experience to venture to rating with a number).

[Miguel Simoes]

those tiny little port sipping glasses I got as a wedding gift and my wife thinks I am an alcoholic for filling them up so multiple times in a night

lolol

Same feeling on my end reg filling up the tiny glasses over and over.

Only sad part is that we actually got port glasses as a wedding gift, but they are currently stored away somewhere!...

[Andy Velebil]

John,

Congrats on your first tasting note here And glad you've got proper Port glasses now. They'll make a world of difference to your enjoyment...and keep the wife from telling you you've had too much

[John F. Newman]

I'll save the small glasses for when I have company and serve good port.

[Andy Velebil]

I'll save the small glasses for when I have company and serve good port.

(except of course when fellow FTLOP'ers visit )

[Peter W. Meek]

I know the feeling (and the requirement to buy more to make a set). I hope you did better than I usually do. I usually discover that the "free" items are not as good as they might be.

And if you are talking about those "bottom sippers", I can't imagine how you ever made yourself use them a second time. I would rather use a small tumbler than those. (In fact, I sometimes DO use a small tumbler for port. Actually works fairly well. Cylindrical; maybe about 1 3/4 inches diameter and 3 inches high. Probably 6 oz if filled to the brim; I usually pour about 2 oz.)

[Roel B]

I have a few port glasses, but actually never use them. I used to in the past, but I really like "playing" with my wines. Swirling them, sniffing, giving it another swirl, etc. The small port glasses and me together are simply a recipe for disaster.

My favorite glass for either Port, Madeira or any other fortified wine is the same glass that I use for most whites. A 16.5oz (49cl) glass from Luigi Bormioli's Vinoteque series: the Maturo. Spacey enough to be able to swirl and aerate the wine, but shaped correctly for the wine to show all it's aroma nuances.

Overall, I really like the Luigi Bormioli Vinoteque glasses. They are elegant, but at the same time not very fragile and actually not that expensive. I did buy some really expensive handmade crystal glasses in the past, but after breaking all of them within a few weeks (all while drying them) I just gave up. Glasses that are that fragile are just not suitable for me.

[Luc Gauthier]

John , If you get the chance , try Sandemans 20 yr old

[Bradley Bogdan]

This reminds me of a completely opposite time when I specifically was trying to avoid buying a bottle of champagne (Mumm, I think) that came with glasses for free. It was post Christmas/New Year and the store had marked down their gift set bottles to $5 cheaper than the same bottling purchased solo. After a discussion where I tried to talk them into selling me the regular bottle solo for the same price and not getting anywhere, I relented and bought the set because I couldn't justify not, despite really enjoying the disgorgement grouping from the solo bottles previously. The glasses got one use, where they were as awful as they looked and were relegated to mimosa duty from then on.

[Eric Menchen]

You didn't throw the glasses forcefully into the fireplace, shattering them?

[Peter W. Meek]

You didn't throw the glasses forcefully into the fireplace, shattering them?

I did that once. It wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be.


EDIT: I felt kind of stupid afterwards, and it detracted from what we were actually celebrating.

[Roy Hersh]

It was nice to see the name Luigi Bormioli again. I was a food and beverage director of a hotel in Wash. DC back in the mid-1990's and we used LB's crystal glassware in one of our bars. They were hand washed and fragile and replacement was insane, but they were only used for a few of our high end products. That was early on, when LB was first getting notice in the USA. Great company to work with, at least their importer was.

Port glasses are pretty easy to find on line and there is no reason to drink Port from a bad glass. Not saying that you can't appreciate it anyway, but it will enhance the overall presentation and flavor/aromatics when a proper Port glass is used.

[Miguel Simoes]

Speaking of wine glasses...
Had been sipping port off of some tiny glasses for some time now.
Decided yesterday to give these Riedel Red Wine glasses we have at home a try w port. They have thin glass, v wide and tall, thin stem...
It was like night and day. The 2007 Fonseca LBV just tasted sooooo much better. Could actually smell it, feel it all the way!
And not having to constantly fill up my glass just made it that much better. What a difference!

[Andy Velebil]

Miguel
Glad you discovered how much difference glassware can have. Toss those tiny glasses and enjoy...without having to get up to refill as often. :)

[Bradley Bogdan]

Has anyone here been to one of those Riedel glass demonstrations? Do they ever do port?

[Andy Velebil]

Has anyone here been to one of those Riedel glass demonstrations? Do they ever do port?

Yes I have. But no they didn't do Port glasses. I'd love to do a tasting of different port glasses blind to see what the perceived differences are.